A Neighbourly Way to Interact With Your True Neighbours
There’s a new site on the block which helps neighbours connect with each other, but instead of meeting face-to-face for the first time, they can now e-meet each other on a social-media-like website called Neighbourly.
Of course, there will be a lot of people asking why we shouldn’t meet our neighbours face-to-face first, like what used to happen many moons ago? This could be put down to arising issues around the neighbourhood like the increase in crime rate, which is making people feel shy and uncomfortable about meeting new neighbours face-to-face.
Neighbourly is a site which brings residents in from the same neighbourhood (and neighbourhoods surrounding it) together. Only those living in your suburb, can join your suburb’s group on Neighbourly. Think of it like a Facebook for neighbours sort of thing, except a bit more trusting, secure and private. This is because there are a couple of strict verification methods when joining Neighbourly, one is which you must use your real name, and another is that you will be sent a letter with a verification code to your actual physical address, similar to what Trade Me does to Address Verify its users.
Because of the increasingly growing rate of modern-day-tech users, which includes smartphone users, alerts for the neighbourhood can now be a fingertip away to knowing all the latest news in your neighbourhood, which could range from a missing item just reported stolen, or what the best cafe in your area is! This is also helped by the Neighbourly app for smartphones, which is available for iOS and Android.
Of course there will also be some concern to privacy when using the site. Is there a lurker in your neighbourhood listening in on your posts on Neighbourly, ready to pounce on your house when you’re not home? One of the co-founders of Neighbourly Casey Eden said that privacy could work both ways:
[Tweet “If you wouldn’t put it up on a lamppost outside your house, then don’t put it on Neighbourly.”]
The benefits of Neighbourly is that neighbours could open up to other neighbours in order for them to look out for you. If users are really insecure about posting openly on the Neighbourly feed, they can also PM (Private Message) each other.
Eden also said that she doesn’t see that Neighbourly will be a direct competitor to other social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, just that it’s “a utility to use when you need it.”
For more information on Neighbourly, or if you want to join Neighbourly to see what others in your suburb are saying, please visit: https://www.neighbourly.co.nz
